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History & Fun Facts

History & Fun Facts

• In 1959, the first NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship was held in Connecticut. Saint Louis defeated Bridgeport for the title 5-2. The Billikens have a total of 10 championships to date, the most in NCAA men’s soccer history. Indiana ranks second with seven.

• The NCAA men’s soccer bracket started out as just eight teams and remained in that format from 1959-1962. Throughout the years the bracket has expanded to 16, 18, 20, 21, 24, 28, 32 teams and finally, 48 teams (2001-present.)

• Currently, the top-16 teams in the bracket are seeded. The committee began seeding the top-16 teams in 2003 and 22 conferences receive automatic qualification.

• Four championship games have been decided on penalty kicks. In 1990, UCLA became the first institution to claim the national title via penalty kicks. In 1991, Virginia beat out Santa Clara after the two teams were drawn to a tie. In 2004, Indiana defeated UC-Santa Barbara on penalty kicks, and most recently in 2009, Virginia won the national title for a second time by way of penalty kicks.

• Virginia is the only team to win four consecutive NCAA titles. Under the direction of head coach Bruce Arena, the Cavaliers won it all in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994. Other teams that have turned in repeat performances are: St. Louis on four occasions (1959, 1960), (1962, 1963), (1969, 1970), (1972, 1973); Indiana three times (1982, 1983), (1998, 1999), (2003, 2004); and San Francisco once (1975, 1976).

• The highest attended NCAA Men’s College Cup was in 1995 in Richmond, Va. 21,319 fans showed up to witness Wisconsin defeat Duke 2-0. Attendance reached more than 20,000 in 1996 and 1997; games were also held in Richmond.

• In 2008, the NCAA celebrated 50 years of the Men’s College Cup. The championship was hosted in Frisco, Texas, and members of the 50th Anniversary team were honored throughout the weekend.

• In 2010, the Akron Zips claimed their first national championship.

• In 2011, Hoover served as host for the Men’s College Cup. This marked the first national soccer championship held in the state of Alabama. The UNC Tar Heels were crowned national champions, as they defeated in-state rivals Charlotte by a score of 1-0.

• In 2012, Hoover, for the second consecutive time, will serve as host of the Men’s College Cup.